On its second full-length album, ARRIVING ALIVE, the Oakland, California-based hardcore band Desa offers up a melodic, angular, and well-crafted set of songs that recalls lauded predecessors such as Quicksand and Jawbox. While the group shows some evidence of the streamlined West Coast punk-pop sound, it adds an intriguingly moody edge, as revealed on the tightly wound "Delilah" and the surging "X Million."